Effects of the Virus of the Touched
by Rose Stetson
Summary: AU Broca Divide Part 1 in a Trilogy that has yet to be named
1. We're Pregnant

**Effects of the Virus of the Touched**

_Jack/Sam_

_"Broca Divide" Spoilers_

_Author's Note: This is the first story in a trilogy. It all started with a dream that I had- the scene will be in the conclusion of the trilogy, sorry!

* * *

_

_She leaned against the lockers, feverishly. She was on a mission and was not about to be deterred. A coy smile played on her lips. He was hiding._

_All right. If he wanted to play games, she would play. A simple game of hide-and-seek, right? Child's play. She smiled inwardly at her own choice of words._

_What little was left of her rational mind protested. He was her commanding officer, strictly off-limits. But within a few seconds, her mind was contemplating the kinds of games she could play with him…and his towel. He put the towel into the locker and pulled out a black shirt. By now, all thoughts of games were gone. Logic was gone too. All that was left was the unquenchable desire and need that tortured her body._

_She shut the locker door as he lifted that black shirt over his head, inadvertently flexing his abdominal muscles. He saw her. "Oh, sorry, Carter! Didn't know you were here."_

_He hurried to continue putting his shirt on, and she found it incredibly sexy. She grabbed him and kissed him, hard. He was surprised by her kiss and consequently stumbled over his words. "What the hell's going on here?"_

"_I want you." She growled, kissing him and pressing herself against him. Yes, she would get what she wanted from him._

* * *

Captain Samantha Carter got out of the tent and walked toward the crackling campfire. It was her turn to take watch. She tapped Colonel Jack O'Neill on the shoulder.

He looked up to see her and nodded. As he walked back toward the tent that she had recently vacated, she sat down where he had previously sat. Then, with her grip on the P-90 in her hands, she looked up at the stars. According to her calculations, it would be light in about three hours. She yawned. Yep, she was definitely starting her day on the early side.

* * *

Jack awoke two and a half hours later with the rising suns. He walked outside, expecting Carter to be sitting by the fire, with coffee percolating, but he was disappointed. He started the coffee himself, and walked toward Carter's last position. As he approached, he saw her arm lying to the side awkwardly. His black ops training took over, and soon he was ready to deal with some stealthy enemy who had injured- or worse, killed- his second-in-command without alarming the rest of the camp.

He crept around the tree, not looking at her, but around, in case someone or something was preparing to strike. He felt her neck for a pulse, while he did so, surprised to find a strong one. He looked into Sam's sleeping face, and he was surprised that she had fallen asleep on watch. If anything she was the last one who would have fallen asleep on duty.

"Carter!" He whispered harshly.

She didn't answer, not even stirring at the sound of his voice.

"Carter!" He said, more strongly.

As she jerked awake, her own defensive techniques emerged. She hit him in the jaw, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Her face paled as she realized who she had just hit. "Colonel! I am SO sorry!"

He stood up, rubbing his jaw. "No problem. I like your style. Hit first, ask questions later."

Before he could ask her why she had fallen asleep, her eyes widened with a look of inexplicable horror as the pungent smell of the coffee wafted toward them.

"What?" He asked, turning around to see if something was lurking behind him. He saw nothing and as he turned back to face her, he saw her running to a bush and heard the all-too-familiar sounds of someone retching. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Crap!"

"Carter, are you okay?" He asked, as he approached her heaving form.

She finished throwing up and accepted Jack's military issue handkerchief as she tried to wipe her mouth. He helped her stand up, and she leaned on him. "You okay?"

She nodded, weakly.

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. One minute, I was wondering why I fell asleep on watch and then, I smelled coffee, and…"

"That bad, huh?"

She turned a slightly glazed look toward him. "Sir?"

"My coffee must be bad if just smelling it made you throw up."

She grimaced. "Yes sir."

Noticing that his usually charming wit had no effect on her this morning, he realized that something really was wrong. "Come on, Carter. We're going to go to the Gate and take you to the infirmary."

"But the mission," she protested.

"I am not going to make contact with the locals only to give them the flu! Now, gear up, Captain." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." She said, heading into her tent.

* * *

As the wormhole disengaged, General Hammond entered the Gate Room. "What happened, son?"

"I think SG-1 may have been contaminated." Jack said, walking down the ramp.

"With an alien influence?"

"Not so alien," Sam said, with a weak smile.

"Care to explain?"

"Carter's got the flu. We figured it would be best to go get checked out by Doc Fraiser before trying to make contact with the locals." Jack said.

"Understood. SG-1, report to the infirmary!"

* * *

Dr. Janet Fraiser ran the usual battery of tests on SG-1 with no results. However, she didn't give up. After all, Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter had had some interesting bodily contact. No one had known just how far they had gone before the infirmary was alerted, and Janet was somewhat frightened that it was that contact that had initiated these symptoms and that though the symptoms were flu-like, they were not contagious. By any means.

* * *

"Captain Carter, it's Doctor Fraiser, could you and Colonel O'Neill report to the Infirmary?" Janet asked, calling the Isolation room where SG-1 was being kept.

"Of course." She said, noting the graveness of Janet's voice. "We'll be right there."

She hung up the phone, and turned to her team mates. "Colonel. Dr. Fraiser needs to see us."

Jack gave a sarcastic smile. "Great. Just what I needed. The Napoleonic power monger to stick more needles in me."

Sam chuckled despite the fact that in the last two days, the nausea had not abated, and none of the other members of SG-1 had shown any signs of the illness. "Shall we go?"

* * *

"Thanks for coming." Janet said, sitting at her desk after motioning for them to sit down in her office. "I have some information that I think you should both be made aware of."

Sam looked at Jack questioningly. "Okay. What is it?"

"Sam, you're pregnant. And I have reason to believe that it has to do with the Virus of the Touched."

Sam paled and closed her eyes. God, no! She prayed. He's my commanding officer!

"Are you sure?" Jack sputtered.

"Not entirely. But I can promise you that Sam is pregnant. I need her permission to do an amniocentesis. It has a slight risk of miscarriage, but if you refuse and it is found that this is Colonel O'Neill's child, it will be harder to plead an alien influence defense in a court martial."

"Okay." Sam peeped.

"You're just going to say okay to that?" Jack asked.

"What other choice do I have, Colonel?"

Jack took a deep breath. "None. I guess."

"Exactly."

"We can have the test set up in a matter of minutes." Janet continued.

"All right. I'm ready now."

"All right, this way." Janet said, leading her to one of the examination rooms.

* * *

Jack and Sam waited in their respective offices for the news, carefully avoiding one another. It wasn't until the next day that the results came in. "Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, please report to the infirmary."

Each of them took a deep breath, though each had different reasons for doing so, and headed to the infirmary.

"Well, I was right. This has to do with the Virus of the Touched. Colonel O'Neill, you are the father of Captain Carter's child."

They both inhaled deeply, trying to digest the reality of the situation.

"General Hammond is working on getting Presidential pardons for you and all of the other couples in similar situations. Thankfully, none of you are currently married to other people. That would have been quite messy."

"There are other couples?" Sam asked.

"Yes. It wasn't until after the third case of attempted rape was reported that we sectioned off the male and female officers."

"Rape?" Sam asked.

"It's the term that we believe best describes the situation. None of you were in your right minds, however, and so, there will probably not be charges of sexual assault pressed."

Sam let her head drop into her hands. "I am an Air Force officer, my career has been spotless. Not even a reprimand on file. And I'm going to be dismissed because of an alien influence?" She muttered.

"There are no promises or guarantees either way at this point." Janet reminded her. "However, General Hammond would like to see you in his office. He has a few things to ask you individually and as a couple."

Jack's mind did a double take at the mention of the word 'couple.' He and Carter weren't a couple, they were two individuals. Not that she wasn't great- witty, beautiful, charming, and a hell of a lot smarter than he was. It was just that- he wasn't exactly ready to have another kid. The fact of the matter was, he wasn't sure if he would ever really want any more kids at all.

"Do you know when General Hammond wants to see us?"

"I don't know. However, his standing orders are that the couples in question are to return to their homes and do some thinking about what they would like to do. He'll forward requests to the President. I think he'll contact you when he's ready to talk to you."

Sam and Jack nodded, bleakly. "Thanks, Janet."

"Thanks, Doc."

"You're welcome. Oh, and Sam-" She reached into a drawer and pulled out a bottle of prenatal vitamins. "You're going to need to start taking these."

She nodded. "Thank you."


	2. Are We Okay With This?

It was about eight o'clock in the evening, and Jack found himself sitting alone in his truck outside her house for ten minutes. Three weeks had passed since they'd found out that Sam was pregnant. And it had been a lot longer since they had spoken more than two words to one another.

Their meeting with General Hammond had gone well enough, but they were the only "couple" that had gotten pregnant from the encounter, which had certainly complicated things. However, General Hammond was batting for them with all that he had, and they both had a great deal of faith in his negotiating capabilities. At this point, there was little question about that there would be no court-martial for anyone involved, but jobs and team assignments were another matter altogether.

Sam hadn't said anything about being reassigned to another team, but Jack knew instinctually that it would break her heart. She had worked hard to get where she was and Jack didn't want to see her hard work get discredited because of an alien influence anymore than she did.

Then, of course, to add insult to injury, his past had come to haunt him about the time that she got pregnant.

He rubbed his eyes. He wasn't ready for this.

But he didn't really have a choice. Jack O'Neill did the honorable thing; Jack O'Neill took responsibility for his screw-ups. He winced. Bad choice of words, O'Neill, he thought to himself.

He walked cautiously up to the door and knocked.

Sam opened the door. "Sir? This is…This is a surprise."

"Carter."

They stood there for a few moments, awkwardly. "Mind if I come in?"

"Uh, sure…"

He stepped into the living room. Boxes still lined one wall, but the rest of her room looked finished.

"Sorry." She apologized as she noticed his sweep of the room. "I'm still moving in."

"No problem."

She motioned him further into the living room. "Can I get you something?"

"No thanks."

She gave a tight smile. She seemed to be dressed in loose-fitting clothing. Jack wondered if this was because she had begun gaining weight, but decided that it would be a bad thing to ask aloud. However, aside from her choice of outfit, her hair wasn't as styled as it normally was, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. She looked exhausted.

"What can I do to help you, sir?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said, vaguely. Then, he looked over at her. "Except, you could stop calling me 'sir' when we're not at work."

She nodded, meekly.

"Sorry, Carter." He said, noticing that she must not have been feeling particularly well.

"I'm fine." She said, quickly.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

There was silence for a little while before she spoke again. "I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday at 1330."

He looked up, surprised.

"I mean, you don't have to come if you don't want…"

"I'll be there." He said, a little more briskly than he had intended. "Thank you." He said, more courteously.

She gave him another tight smile.

"Carter…"

"Yes?"

"We, uh, I think we need to talk."

She was timid as she nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do…"

"Sam…" He began.

She looked up, surprised. "You've…you've never called me that before, sir." She said, after a moment lapsed silently.

He coughed and she smiled at the tiny reprimand. "Sorry, Jack."

"That's better."

Another moment lapsed awkwardly by. "Jack…" She began. "You…you don't have to feel…obligated…to do anything. I mean, I'm perfectly capable of…handling this myself. After all, I'm the one who…jumped you…in the locker room and…"

"And I didn't stop you when my mind was even remotely capable of rational thought." He said, slightly put off by the fact that she didn't expect him to take responsibility for their actions.

She nodded, sheepishly.

"Look, if you don't want me around…I understand."

He didn't have to tell her why he thought she might be reluctant to have him around their child. The implication was clear in his tone of voice, and suddenly, it was as if Charlie's ghost was standing between them.

"No, I…I mean, you're fine. This is your baby too." She said, somewhat apologetic.

A timer rang in the kitchen, and Sam's eyes widened.

"Something wrong?"

"No." She said, shaking her head. "Dinner's ready."

"Ah…"

He followed her into the kitchen where she took the lids off of a couple of pans and turned off the stove. She turned, embarrassed. "I wasn't exactly expecting company…"

"No, you're fine. I'll, uh, I'll go."

"No!" She said, more emphatically than she had intended to be. "That's…not what I meant by what I said. I…just give me a few minutes to set a place for you?" She asked, almost pleadingly.

"Are you inviting me to dinner?"

She instantly straightened. "You don't have to…"

"I'd love to."

She reached for a plate, glass and utensils. Then, she set them across from her plate.

"So…what's for dinner."

"Chicken, rice and broccoli."

"Oh." He said, somewhat disappointed.

"Sorry…I know you're more of a steak and potatoes kind of guy…"

"No, that's fine."

She smiled as she placed the food into serving dishes.

"What?"

"I don't know…you're kinda…cute when you're disappointed."

"Cute?" The Air Force Colonel asked, surprised.

She laughed. "I'm sorry, but it's the only word that came to mind."

He shrugged and reached for the serving dishes. She looked at him, puzzled, and he shrugged. "Do you mind me helping? I mean, you weren't exactly expecting me to drop in…"

"Okay." She said, somewhat touched. However, she would not cry, she told herself. Almost instantly, she had to grab one of the dishtowels which she discreetly used to dab at her eyes.

He set the dishes on the table and she got into the fridge and got the juice. She walked over to the table, and looked at him. "I'd offer you a beer, but…I got rid of all of it…"

"It's okay. What kind of juice?"

"White grape raspberry."

"Sounds…interesting."

"Sorry."

"No." Jack said, refusing to allow her to feel apologetic about her tastes. "I'm the one who dropped in on you. I should be apologizing for ruining your dinner plans and not calling and all that."

"Well, in that case, you're forgiven." She said, somewhat amused. "After all, you only interrupted what was going to be a quiet night at home. I was just going to read a book and maybe unpack another box."

"No…wormholes?"

She smiled. "Not exactly. Einstein's Theory of Relativity."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do you do ANYTHING except think?"

"Yes."

"What?" He challenged.

"Well, for one, I'm restoring a vintage motorcycle."

"Really?" He asked, suitably impressed and surprised. So…the little astrophysicist DID know how to have fun…on a Harley in leather…

Hello! He thought. That wasn't a bad picture…

"I'm also a closet astronomer."

Jack's eyes widened. "Me too!" He blurted.

"You, sir?" She asked, skeptically.

He gave her a mockingly wounded look. "Yes, Carter, me…and it's Jack."

"Right. Sorry. I just…I thought you had a problem with scientists."

"I should have clarified…" He said, wincing. He knew that statement would eventually bite him in the butt. Better sooner than later, right? At least now he could clarify the statement early in their relationship.

Relationship? He asked himself. Yeah, we're having a kid together, but…relationship?

"I meant that I have a problem with geeks."

"Geeks." She repeated.

"Yeah, you know…no life, no down-time, always in their lab, think anyone who doesn't understand multi-syllabic words is stupid…you know, geeks."

She bit her tongues as she raised an eyebrow. How long would it take him to realize that he had practically described her and perfectly described Daniel?

Almost the instant the words left his mouth, he winced inwardly. He had just described her and Daniel…smooth, he thought to himself. "Not that you're a geek. I mean…Daniel is a geek…there's no question about that, but…"

Sam watched him squirm as he tried to find a way that she was not a geek, but Daniel could still be classified as a geek…

"Oh, for cryin' out loud! You've got a motorcycle! You've got to be cool!"

She smiled, amused. "Thanks, Jack. I'm glad I meet your approval."

"And…you can cook." Jack said, deciding that this was one the times that it would be best to be seen and not heard. After all, he'd already messed up a few times tonight.

She chuckled. "My mom always said that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, but I thought that was just an old cliché. I guess it's not as outdated as I first thought."

"Wise woman."

"Yeah, she was." Sam said, getting a far-away look in her eye.

"What happened?"

She looked up.

"What happened?"

"Car accident. I was fifteen."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

It was quiet again for a few moments. "I'm sorry. I, uh…I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Jack said, nervously.

"You didn't." She assured, quickly. She placed her hand on his. "I'm really glad you're here. Thanks for coming."

He looked at her hand that was resting on top of his and then he looked back at her, somewhat surprised. "No problem."

She took her hand from his, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "So, how do you like the Program?"

"I like it. It's…different than the other stuff I've done, but it's a nice change. What about you?"

"It's a nice challenge."

"But?" He prompted.

"I don't know. There's a certain amount of security in knowing that you're only dealing with science and technology that's relatively close to what you know and that you've encountered before. But at the same time, there's something exhilarating about knowing that we have no idea what out there…"

He was studying her intently. She had hit the nail on the head. She looked at him as she noticed that strength of his gaze. "What?"

He stopped. "Nothing."

"No, really, what?"

"You're cute when you're explaining things." He said, simply.

"Cute?" She asked, feeling anything but cute.

He shrugged. "It's the only word that came to mind."

She smiled as she stood and picked up her plate. His hands were instantly on her plate before she could even take a step.

"Allow me."

She was surprised by his sudden act of chivalry. "Okay."

As he walked over to the sink, she yawned.

"Tired?" He asked, returning to her.

"A little. I'm just going to do the dishes and then go to bed."

Jack shook his head and gently guided her down into the hallway. "Nope. The dishes will wait. You should rest. You're sleeping for two now."

She looked up, and smiled. "Thanks for the reminder."

"You have the little fella in there and you needed a reminder?"

"Not really, but…I don't know, there's something comforting about the way you say it."

He just smiled and nodded…it must be a pregnant woman thing, he thought.

"Jack, will you stay until I fall asleep?" She asked, looking at him with her clear blue eyes.

Suddenly, he realized that he would never be able to say no to her if she looked at him like that.

"Okay."

She took him by the hand, somewhat sheepishly to her bedroom. He stood awkwardly in the room as she went into her closet and got into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth and then walked over.

"You can sit on the bed if you want. You don't have to stand watch like Teal'c would."

Jack smiled and sat on the opposite side of the bed from where she lay. They stayed like that for a few moments before she scooted over and put his arm around her. "Hold me?" She asked, giving him the same look she'd given him earlier.

Damn that look, he thought. Then again, she was the mother of his child. Somehow, his heart swelled in a way that he thought would never again be possible since Charlie. His child.

"Sure." He said, settling a little more into the pillows behind him as she cuddled up to him.

Within a few moments, they were both asleep, arms around each other in protective embraces.


	3. Down Time Together

She could feel someone watching her. For that matter, someone was holding her. Who the he…?

She opened her eyes quickly. The smiling face of Jack O'Neill came into view. "Hey."

She was somewhat surprised to see him. In her bed. Though, she was slightly comforted to realize that they were both fully clothed. "Hey."

"I guess we fell asleep at the same time."

"I guess."

"So…can I do anything for you?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Nothing? I mean, we're both on down time, and…"

"I know."

There was an awkward pause. "So…got any plans?"

"Actually, I was going to go shopping. My clothes…well, they're getting tight."

"Mind if I tag along?"

She looked at him, skeptically. "No…if you really want…"

"Sam." He said, staring at the bedspread as his finger traced lazy circles on it. "This…I…my biggest regret about my life…before the Program was…"

She sat up and placed her hand on his to let him know that she was there.

"I'm…not so good at this…talking thing, am I?"

"You're doing fine." She said, realizing his need to get this burden off of his chest.

"I was never there. I mean, one minute I'm home, and Sara's wearing normal clothes, and then I leave, and when I come back, she's wearing maternity clothes!"

She continued to just sit there, listening to the man who never spoke.

"I think I went to one, maybe two, doctor appointments." His voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. "I came back from Iraq to find Sara with a three-week-old Charlie."

"Oh my gosh." She said, shocked.

"Sam, I don't want to do that again. I mean, I'm confused…but I don't want to let you down the way I let Sara down. If you need me, I'm here. Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd go to every doctor's appointment, I'd fix up the nursery, I'd be here for midnight cravings and foot rubs and back rubs…I'd be there when this baby is born, but…" He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. "If you don't want me around that much, I understand. I mean, we barely know each other and…"

"What are you saying?" Sam asked, her heart pounding with emotions and feelings that she couldn't describe.

"Sam, regardless of what the Pentagon says, I want to try to see if 'us' will work." He began. Suddenly, she felt her stomach bubble a little bit as if warning her that it was about to erupt.

"Maybe it will, and maybe it won't. And it's not just because of the baby…I…well, the truth is that if you and I hadn't been in the same chain of command when we met, I would have probably asked you to dinner right there."

"Uh, Jack…" She said, turning green.

He didn't stop. "You…you've done something to me that…I wasn't sure could ever happen again."

She bolted from the bed to the bathroom, barely reaching it before she started to gag. She felt a hand set itself tentatively on her back before it began tracing circles on her back. She managed to expel some of the bile in her stomach, and she leaned over the toilet bowl, breathing heavily. "This is the thing I hate the most." She said, to the contents of her stomach.

Jack simply placed a cold washcloth on the back of her neck and then up to her face. She turned to look at him, and he shrugged. Then, he handed her the washcloth and she washed her mouth. "Thanks."

He helped her up and she went to the sink. She reached for her toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Listen, next time you disagree with my opinion, you don't have to get sick…" He said, half-joking.

She smiled at him, despite the fact that she still had the toothbrush in her mouth.

"Look, I know this is weird, but…"

She rinsed her mouth and spit the suds from the toothpaste into the sink before she interrupted him. "But we're going to have a baby. Together."

"Yeah."

She looked up at him after putting her toothpaste and toothbrush away, hands on her hips. "I don't want to hear any complaining." She said, sternly. "Because you asked for it." She said, a teasing smile on her face.

She walked into her closet, leaving a confused Jack behind. "What? I asked for what?"


	4. Baby Boot Camp

Three hours later, Jack found himself sitting in front of the dressing rooms at Motherhood at the mall in Denver. They had arrived an hour previously, and despite the rather deceptive look of the small store, Sam had found it necessary to peruse each individual item of clothing to see if it met her satisfaction. So far, she had picked up jeans, some capris, a couple of slacks, a couple of dresses, a couple of t-shirts, two skirts, and two blouses.

Of course, at that point, she had to try them all on. Jack sighed. She'd been in there for about a half an hour, hemming and hawing, once in a while coming out to get his approval. He couldn't help but groan at the thought. There was SO much that he'd rather be doing right now.

Just then, he heard her voice over the dressing room door. "Jack?"

"Yes?" He asked, standing up and going to the door of the room that she was in.

"Can you help me please?"

He froze. "With what?" He asked, somewhat self-consciously. Him. Her dressing room. He swallowed. He nearly placed his hands in a prayer position and looked heavenward pleading 'please let her just need me to get a different size. PLEASE!'

"Would you help me with my zipper?"

This time, he did look heavenward. "Why me?" He asked in a tiny whisper.

"Because I know you, Jack, now are you coming in or not?"

She said the last statement rather loudly, and the clerk looked over as if to ask if they needed any help. He shrugged and reached for the handle of the door. It was locked, and he continued to wait outside. A minute later, the door opened, and a slightly irritated Sam opened the door, peering out from around the door. "Are you coming?"

He grinned kind of sheepishly, much like Linus from the Peanuts did. "The door was locked."

She looked at the handle where her hand still rested. "Oh. Sorry. Come on in."

He nodded and followed her. She was wearing a denim jumper with a light blue t-shirt underneath it. The jumper was simple in its design, just two spaghetti straps, a high empress waist and a straight cut. And despite its simplicity, Jack found it rather pretty on her. Despite its bagginess without the zipped up back.

She felt his gaze on her and she turned from her position in front of the mirror. "What?"

"That's a really nice dress."

"You really think so?" She asked, looking once more at her reflection in the mirror.

"Yeah."

She placed one hand on her relatively flat stomach, the other holding the fabric in the back. "I don't know…"

"Here, let me do this." Jack said, taking her hand from the small of her back and zipping up the dress. His hands lingered, and she felt a tingling sensation all over. It felt so good to have him touch her, however innocently.

The dress instantly became correctly fitted, and Sam reexamined her reflection. Suddenly, she could feel his hands slide down to her elbows and she closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation that coursed through her. He leaned in toward her, studying her reflection, and she could feel the heat of his breath on her ear. Her nervous system was almost completely overwhelmed by the feeling of desire she had for him. She had been utterly unprepared for how much she liked this feeling. She had had similar wants and passions, but none had affected her quite like this before. She wanted to find a more intimate position, she wanted to…love him, like she had never been allowed to love him before. Her breath caught at the realization.

"You look great." He said, returning to his upright position.

"Thank you." She managed, feeling weak at the knees.

He cleared his throat and took his hands from her. Then, he walked to the door and opened it. "You almost done?" He asked, turning back to her.

She nodded.

"Good." With that, he closed the door and she looked back at the mirror. If wearing this dress would make him do that again, she would wear it everyday.

Suddenly, tears started leaking out of her tear ducts. Why was she crying? She asked herself looking frantically around the little room for some Kleenex. Unfortunately, the box that she found was empty, and she nearly cursed.

Maybe if she let them come and just kept busy while they came, they would leave. She thought logically.

She carefully folded the items of clothing that had previously been folded. She managed to unzip the dress that she had tried on (There was no way that she was going to let Jack see her like this) and placed it on its hangar, and the t-shirt was quickly folded and put on the chair with the rest of the clothing. Meanwhile, her thoughts raced.

She had been almost instantly attracted to him- "Junior" was evidence enough of that- but when had she started to care deeply for him? More than any other second-in-command would care for her commanding officer?

And did he really want this baby? Or was he doing this out of duty? After all, he had lost Charlie to a terrible tragic accident only a year and a half earlier. And it wasn't like he had asked her to practically rape him in the locker room. Besides, they didn't really know each other very well. So what if they were good in the field…this was their personal life, and things were rarely as cut and dry as they were out in the field.

She rubbed her forehead. This was making her head hurt.

"Sam? You done in there?" Jack asked, knocking on the door.

She wiped her cheeks with her hands. "yes. I'll be there in a minute."

She looked in the mirror again. Damn! She cursed inwardly. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara was running. When am I going to learn and buy waterproof? She asked herself. I'll get some today, she thought. I never know when I'm going to be grateful for it. She reasoned.

But in the meantime, she didn't have so much as a Kleenex to wipe the mascara from her cheeks.

"Carter…you coming?"

She SO didn't want to have him see her like this.

"Yeah, I'm almost done."

She was still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes two minutes later when he knocked again. "Something wrong?"

She finally decided to swallow her pride. "Jack, I'm fine. I just…I started crying all of a sudden."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Jack asked. A moment later, a box of Kleenex was sent over the top of the door. She reached for it and took a couple of tissues from the box. She sniffled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She got herself cleaned up and opened the door. Jack stood there and turned. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and placed the Kleenex box back on the door just outside the dressing rooms. Meanwhile, Jack walked into the recently vacated room and picked up the clothes that she had so carefully assembled.

"You getting all of these?"

She nodded.

He carried the stack of clothing to the clerk's table when something in forest camouflage caught his eye. He turned and saw a shirt that said "Baby Boot Camp" on the front. He grinned. Here was the one thing that Carter had missed.

"Hey, Sam?"

She looked over as the clerk began ringing up their purchases. "Yes?"

"Would you wear that?"

She looked over to where his finger was pointing and laughed. "You're kidding right? I wear camouflage at work, and you want me to wear it at home too?"

"What? You look hot in BDUs."

She blushed and he grinned. "Come on! You know you think it's as _cute_ as I do."

She looked away from him as she chuckled before looking him in the eye again. "Okay, fine."

She walked over and got the right size t-shirt, and as she did so, Jack pulled out his credit card and handed it to the cashier. He then made a 'kill' gesture while shaking his head, indicating silence and the associate smiled as she nodded in understanding.

"Okay, sorry about that, but you heard the exchange. I'd like this as well." Sam said, placing the shirt on the table and getting out her pocket book.

The cashier did so and then immediately rang the items up on Jack's credit card as Sam kept looking for her own. "This is ridiculous…" She muttered. "I always put it in here…"

The woman behind the register handed the slip to Jack who signed it and then she returned his card to him. "Would you like your receipt in the bag?" She asked.

"Yes." Jack answered as she began placing the items into bags. He placed one hand on Sam's arm. "Hey, Carter…don't sweat it."

She looked up to find her items all bagged up and ready to be taken home. "But what? I mean, I…"

"Have a nice day." The cashier said as Jack took the bags from the counter and led Sam away.

"Backatcha."


	5. Lunch Conversations

Jack insisted that they stop by one of the 'baby' stores before going home. "Just for ideas…" He said, at her protests.

He led her inside, and they walked down the aisles. "Oh my gosh, I had no idea how many things they make for babies!" She said, her eyes wide with surprise.

He chuckled and tried to lead her over to the crib/nursery decoration section of the store, but she stopped at the clothing. "They're so tiny!" She said with awe.

"They are babies…" He reasoned.

"No, she's right." One of the sales associates said, nearby. "You're in the premie section. These clothes are specifically designed for infants that are born premature. They're quite a bit smaller than the regular newborn clothes."

She looked up and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. If you need any help, just holler."

"No, we're just looking today." She said, her smile dimming a little. Then she brightened, placing her hand on her very slightly rounded belly. "We've still got quite a bit of time left."

"Well, congratulations. When are you due?"

"We find out tomorrow." Sam said, barely able to contain the excitement in her voice.

"But it's always exhilarating to see the clothes that the baby you're carrying is going to wear, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"Well, if I can help you, let me know, okay?"

Jack nodded, placing one hand on Sam's back, protectively. "Thank you."

She looked at him, questioningly, and he shrugged. He almost took his hand away, accepting her look as a protest, but the minute that he lessened the pressure, she took his hand and wrapped it around her waist, placing her own around his waist. He looked at her, and she shrugged. He returned the shrug and they walked together toward the nursery area.

She looked at all of the cribs and she nearly cried at how carefully each had been crafted. Jack just led her head to his shoulder, and she felt comforted instantly.

"So, do you like the wood look, the colored/plastic look, or the painted wood look?"

"The wood look." She responded after a moment of comparing the regular finished wood with the painted wood."

"Me too." He said, looking over at her. He couldn't help but place a tender kiss on her forehead.

She smiled up at him. "So, what kind of theme should we have?"

"Oh, I don't know…"

"Space?" She asked. "I mean, we do work in…deep space radar telemetry."

Pain etched his features, and she pulled away to look at him more closely. "What? I didn't mean to…"

"No." He said, shaking his head. "It wasn't you."

"Then what?"

"Uh…never mind."

She pulled completely out of his embrace and stood before him. "What?"

He took a deep breath. "Charlie…had stars on his ceiling and…well, he liked…space."

"Oh my gosh." She said, walking closer to him. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry. I…we don't have to…"

"Sam, you're right. I mean, this kid is probably going to be starstruck."

She giggled at his double-meaning.

"Hey! No giggling." He said, his playful demeanor returning.

She cuddled up to him again. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"What?"

"Come on…for what it's worth, I'm not your second-in-command right now. Why can't I giggle?"

He looked at her, and she returned a look that seemed to be pouty. "You pout?"

"Sometimes."

He laughed. "I see…well, I'll just have to watch out for your pout."

She looked at him, feigning indignation. "Oh, please…like you don't have your own irresistible charms."

"Like?"

"Your sarcasm, your…"

"My what?"

"Your grin." She said, somewhat embarrassed.

"My grin?" He asked, giving her the full-tilt grin.

Her knees went weak, and she sighed. "Yes…"

When she recovered, and saw his amused smile, she glared at him. "That's not fair, and you know it!"

He smiled as he led her down the aisle toward the entrance of the store. "So…Junior ready for lunch yet?"

She thought for a moment, grateful to be in his arms. "Yeah, actually…"

"What's he in the mood for?"

"He?" She asked.

"Or she." He corrected.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to inventory what sounded good to her. However, as the smell of Mexican wafted toward her, she knew exactly what she was NOT interested in.

"Uh…let's just say, I know Junior doesn't want Mexican."

Jack caught her meaning, and they hurried away from the offending smell. Only a few minutes later, they were sitting just outside Panda Express and Sam was eating sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and strawberry ice cream. "Jack, this is really great. You should really try it." She said, dipping her egg roll into the ice cream.

"No thanks. I think I'll stick to the tried and true beef and broccoli meal that came entirely from Panda Express." He said, trying to forget the combination of foods sitting in front of him.

She looked at his plate for a moment. "Do you mind?" She asked.

"Do I mind what?" He asked.

She smiled and speared one of his pieces of broccoli. "I knew you wouldn't."

"You're welcome." He said, puzzled and somewhat afraid of what was going to happen to that poor piece of broccoli. Sure enough it was subjected to the same torture that the sweet and sour chicken and egg roll had been subjected to. It was blended with strawberry ice cream.

"Good?"

She nodded, contentedly crunching on the piece of broccoli. "Um-hm…"

"I'm glad."

She swallowed and looked Jack in the eyes. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. I mean…I don't think I've been able to really let my hair down like this since…" She stopped, somewhat surprised. "Well, honestly since my mom died. My dad always had so many opinions about what should happen, and…quite honestly, I've been a little weary of men because of that. I mean, my dad has THE Type-A personality of the century. And my brother Mark, well…that's a COMPLETELY different story…"

"Really?"

She gave a snort of derision. "Trust me. There aren't family reunions in my family. Mark hates everything even remotely connected to the military, most of all my father, and my father tries to control my life, so…we just don't do family time."

"That's too bad."

She looked at him, and could see his genuinely sympathetic look.

"No, I mean…it's the way things have always been…"

"Since your mom was alive you mean?"

She nodded, finding the napkin on her lap very interesting as tears silently fell down her cheeks. "Yeah." She admitted.

"It's okay to care about it." He said, watching her get emotional and feeling so immensely helpless that he regretted ever talking 'feelings' with her.

She looked up, biting the flesh on the inside of her cheek as she tried to stop the tears from falling. "Really?"

He stood up and walked to the other side of the table where he sat next to her, placed his arm around her shoulder and guided her head to his shoulder. "C'mere."

She felt so safe and loved in his embrace. It was strange to realize that she had only met him six months before. It was as if she had known him for her entire life. As if she had waited for him to find her so that she could finally have some glimmering ray of sunshine.

I love you, she thought to herself, wanting desperately to say those words aloud. She stopped herself. It was too early to know what love was, wasn't it? It was too early to know that he was the one that she wanted to wake up to every morning, that she wanted to see her children playing with at the park…the man that she would gladly bear many children for.

She took a deep breath. And yet, there was a very intense feeling that all was right in the world when she was in his arms. There was nothing that she wouldn't have given to have felt like that with Jonas or any of the other men that she had been involved with.

Finally, she had to admit it to herself. I love him.

Besides, any man who would watch her eat Chinese food dipped in strawberry ice cream was a keeper. She couldn't help but laugh and Jack looked at her, quizzically.

"What?"

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking, and…I realized that you must be worth something if you can stomach watching me eat this." She said, motioning to the display in front of her.

He grinned. "Yes, well, there's that."

Suddenly, she felt the urge to kiss him, and she just allowed her body to carry out its wish. There were still a lot of inhibitions in her way of admitting to him that she loved him, but…those could be worked on. Right now, she just wanted to kiss him…and she wanted to remember it.

He was surprised, but despite his initial reluctance, he allowed her to deepen the kiss, and she felt that tingling sensation all over her body. When they broke, they looked at one another intently, and Sam smiled. "Is that enough of a thank you for today?"

"Today's not over." He said, surprised at how much he had really enjoyed not only the day with her, but also that kiss. He hadn't thought that kind of feeling was ever possible. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he had ever felt that way with Sara. But somehow, while that exhilarated him, he was also scared. He had thought it was great with Sara, but now…if it was even better with Sam, there was so much more that could go wrong.


	6. The Sonogram

The next day, Sam arrived at the infirmary about five minutes before her appointment. As she walked in, she could hear the nurses scurrying about, and wondered which team had come in under fire. When she saw no one in the infirmary except Siler, she realized that Jack had gotten there first. He was playing with the equipment, and he was wreaking havoc for the two new nurses, Lt. Angela Short and Lt. Suzanne Andrews.

"Sir!"

He turned. "Hey! I was wondering when you would show up!"

"Glad to see you too. Now are you going to leave Lt. Andrews and Lt. Short alone so that they can do their jobs?"

"Hey! I wasn't distracting them! I was just playing with these…cool…"

"Colonel O'Neill, stop playing with that defibrillator or so help me you will get my biggest needles yet!" Janet said from the other room.

He put the paddles back onto their stand just a moment before Janet Fraiser walked into the room. She scowled at Jack before turning a smile to Sam. "Captain Carter, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty well." She said as she took a deep breath.

"Dizziness? Nausea? Tiredness?"

"A little of everything, but…nothing debilitating."

"Well, if you'll follow me, I'll begin the initial examination, and then, Colonel, you can come in for the sonogram."

"Okey-dokey."

"And don't bother my nurses!" She called as she led Sam to the exam room.

--

It was another half-an-hour before Janet came back. "Colonel, we've finished. You can come in now."

"Great!"

He walked in to find Sam lying on an exam bed, her shirt lifted up and her pants unbuttoned. "Hey!" She said, somewhat cheerfully.

"Hey!" He replied. He could see that her stomach was slightly swollen and his heart flip-flopped when he realized that that swelling was being caused by his child.

"You can sit down." Janet said from behind him.

"Right."

He sat on the chair next to Sam and Janet took the place opposite his own, next to the sonogram machine. She squeezed a tube with a clear gel in it onto Sam's stomach and used the wand of the machine to move it around. After Sam's drew a sharp breath, Janet turned to her apologetically. "Sorry it's so cold."

"No, it's okay." She said, with a smile.

Janet looked at the projector and began moving the wand around to see the different aspects of the scan. She looked at the scan intently for a moment. "Sam, you said your last period was about ten weeks ago, right?"

"Yes." She said, hesitantly.

"Well…" Janet said, trying to study the picture. She decided to try another method. "Let's hear your baby's heartbeat."

Sam looked at Jack, and nodded. "Okay."

Both of them could tell that there was something wrong, and neither of them had the courage to ask her what it was. However, as Janet went to get the monitor, Sam felt Jack reach for her hand. She looked over and wordlessly asked him what he had done that for. He shrugged. Suddenly, she realized that he was as worried as she was. Maybe even more because of Charlie.

Janet quickly returned with a small device. As she hooked it up to Sam, she asked the unexpected question: "Sam, is there a history of multiples in your family?"

Sam looked at the doctor and then at Jack who were both looking at her for the answer. "My brother and I are fraternal twins."

"You are?" Jack asked, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you didn't ask. And I already told you about how great our relationship is."

"Right."

Janet smiled. By now she was finished setting up the monitor and they all heard a faint whooshing sound. Janet was listening intently.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, Sam, that's your baby's heartbeat." She said, with a smile.

"Is everything okay?" Jack asked, Charlie's lifeless body floating before him, as if it was a projection of what was to be.

She nodded. "I was worried about the size of your baby. But…I guess I didn't look hard enough.

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

Janet moved the wand of the sonogram over all of Sam's stomach and then turned to the parents, who both still were unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Congratulations! You're expecting not one baby, but four."

Sam's jaw dropped and Jack's eyebrows raised. "Did you just say…?" He fell off the chair as he passed out.

"Colonel?" Janet asked, leaning over Sam's bed to see if he was all right. She found the Colonel crumpled in a heap on the ground.

"He fainted?" Sam asked, now too absorbed in Jack's health to deal with the reality of her delicate pregnancy.

"Yes." Janet walked over to the door of the exam room. "Nurse! Colonel O'Neill needs medical attention. And bring the smelling salts."

Lt. Short walked in, carrying the small vial of smelling salts. "Did you say that Colonel O'Neill needs medical attention?" She asked, confused when she saw Sam lying conscious on the exam table.

"He fainted. He's on the other side of the bed."

Angela nodded. "Got it."

"From the looks of it, he may also need either a few stitches or an ice pack. Maybe both."

The dutiful nurse brought the smelling salts and placed them under his nose. Almost instantly he arose. "Agh! My head!"

Angela helped him up and he looked at Sam. "She just said that we're going to have…"

"Quadruplets, Colonel. That's right." Janet said, soothingly.

He looked somewhat faint again. "Don't even think about it." Lt. Short said, allowing him to lean on her. "Now let's take a look at that head."

"You gonna be okay, Sam?" He asked before allowing Short to take him away.

"Yes, sir. I'll be there in a little bit."

"Colonel, I'll take care of her. Now, get yourself checked out."

He finally left the infirmary. Janet turned to Sam. "Now, I didn't want to say this in front of him, but…this is risky."

Sam nodded. "I know."

"No, Sam, I'm not sure you do. I'm not making any guarantees here, so don't hold me to this, but chances are you're going to have to have a cesarean section, and there's a high likelihood of needing to have at least a little bed rest. However, that's not what I want to focus on. I am officially going to place you on maternity stand down."

"What?" Sam asked, surprised. Nine months of not being on duty…at all? "Why?"

"Sam, this pregnancy is going to be very demanding on you. You are going to get fatigued very easily. Sam, I know you like the physical and mental challenges of your job, but…unfortunately, the physical challenges of this pregnancy are going to get overwhelming. It's going to be a full-time job taking care of yourself."

Sam nodded, still somewhat in shock. Quadruplets.

"How did this happen?" She asked, almost of herself.

"Well, we won't be sure until the babies are born. But…it's possible that you were originally going to have fraternal twins until one or both of the fertilized eggs decided to split, creating in essence two sets of identical twins or one fraternal fourth and identical triplets…we won't really ever know for sure."

"What about that high level of anti-histamine that you gave me to cure me from the Virus? Are the babies safe?" Sam asked, suddenly very concerned.

"I think so. If it had been very traumatic, you should have had a miscarriage by now. However, it's possible that was what caused the zygotes to split. But, to be honest, we just don't know enough about what causes a zygote to split to even begin to speculate about this."

Sam nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. She wasn't sure if it was the emotional drain that this was starting to become, if it was the power of suggestion, or if she really was just experiencing the level of fatigue that Janet had mentioned earlier. "Well, am I free to go home?"

"Well, right now, I'm going to go and submit my report and recommendation to General Hammond, and unless he needs to speak with you, I would anticipate that you would be able to go home."

"Thanks."

"And don't forget…drink lots of water and get lots of rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

Janet chuckled as Sam began to button her pants back up and pull her shirt down before getting off the bed.

"Oh, and Sam?"

"Yes?"

"I would like to see you for biweekly checkups. So…I'll see you in two weeks?"

Sam nodded. "Okay."

"Great."

--

As Sam walked down the hallway toward the elevator, she was approached by Daniel. "So…Jack fainted during the sonogram, huh?"

She smiled. "Daniel, you're not getting any information from me…"

"Come on, Sam…it must be juicy!"

"Daniel, all Janet said was that I was expecting quads. I mean…that's…"

There was a thud as Daniel hit the ground.

"Oh brother…" Sam muttered as she reached for the red phone on the wall. "Janet…prepare for round two…I've got Daniel in the hallway just outside."

Sam shook her head as she looked at the unconscious archaeologist, waiting for the medical team to come and collect him. "And I didn't even mention bedrest and cesarean sections," she said, with a half-hearted chuckle.

Unbeknownst to her, Daniel had started to come to when he heard the words 'bed rest' and 'cesarean sections.'

So this is how we're going to get a new generation of SG-1, he thought before returning to the dark world of unconsciousness.


	7. Team Assignments

"Captain Carter?" The voice on the line asked.

"Yes?" She uttered, sleepily.

"I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You're fine, sir." She said, stifling a yawn.

"Captain, I have some information regarding team assignments."

She was instantly awake. "When do you want me to be there?"

"Whenever you get here is fine, Captain. Dr. Fraiser updated me on your pregnancy. Quadruplets. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir. I should be able to make it in about a half an hour."

--

True to her word, she arrived at the SGC, exactly one half-hour later. "Sir." She said, knocking on the open door. She was wearing black slacks and an over-sized sweater.

"Come in."

"I'm sorry I haven't changed, but my BDUs aren't fitting and I don't have any maternity BDUs yet."

"And Captain, as far as I understand, you won't be needing them. Dr. Fraiser made it quite clear that she wanted you to remain on stand down."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm just waiting for Colonel O'Neill."

"I understand."

"Sorry, sir." Jack said, knocking on the open door as Sam had done only seconds before. "I lost track of time."

"Well, don't let it happen again."

"Yes, sir."

"Please, have a seat." He said, motioning to the chairs across from his desk.

They both nodded, and sat.

"Colonel O'Neill, you are to remain commanding officer of SG-1."

Jack raised an eyebrow, both officers realizing that it would not be Jack's career path that was changed at all, but rather Sam's career on the line.

"Captain Carter, your assignment to any team, including SG-1, will be your decision when you return from maternity stand down."

She looked at him, surprised. "I get to choose, sir?"

"Yes. I trust both of you to make a responsible decision."

"Yes, sir." They said in unison.

"Dismissed."

Still somewhat shell-shocked, they both rose and walked to the door.

--

They walked in silence before Sam reached the elevator. "So…" Jack began.

"So…what?"

"You want to do something tonight?"

"Like?" She asked, somewhat amused that he was asking her out.

"I don't know…Dinner maybe? Or a movie?"

She yawned inadvertently. "Sounds good."

He chuckled. "Or you could go home and get a nap. You are sleeping for five now…"

"That…" She said before yawning again. "Sounds great!"

"Mind if I bring dinner and a movie to you?"

She smiled tenderly as she stood, half-asleep on her feet. "That sounds perfect."

"Or I could just take you back to bed."

She tried to wake herself up again. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me. I'm just…tired."

"Sam…you're pregnant. And for most women…that's enough. But you really are sleeping for five."

She chuckled. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Hey, that's my job."

She smiled. "So…you gonna take me home? Or am I gonna have to drive myself?"

"Let me call the General."


End file.
